The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-02-12

| SceihS' 4uC OIdJOT OI Ulc OCCaSlO1
was man coined in the ancient Meth
odist mint. His theme was, "Judg-
ment and HELL" He was no mean
specimen of Western orator. The
graves were bursting, and the "great
and small" stood before the inexorable
Judge. The appeal was earnest and fer
vent. In the great multitude he de-
scribed was mother, bidding farewell
to daughter who had not needed her
teachings while on earth. The mother
was wringing her hands in deepest
agony, and bewailing the sad fate of
her unhappy child from whom she must
be separated forever. The final SEN
tence was passed, and the mother was
transported by angels to heaven, where
all was joy and love, with the conscious
ness that her beloved child was among
the damned in hell. The famous gulf
in the sermon that night was very mar
row-so narrow, indeed, that the daugh-
ter stood upon its brink and besought
the mother to come to her assistance
and comfort her in her misery. The
mother-the preachers heart true to it's
human instincts-would fain have gone;
but the impossible gulf lay in her way,
and instead of being able to administer
10 the wants of her offspring in distress,
she was forced to stand amid the hal
lelujahs of the blest, an eye witness of
all the misery of her unfortunate child
The doctrine of endless punishment
makes the Christian heaven the most
dismal, gloomy place of which the
mind can form conception. In many
instances, it separates the children of
earth from all that makes this vale of
mortality endurable. It separates hus-
band from wife ; 1t tears the child from
the arms of the mother; it is worse
than this world can possibly be; it
leads men to hate the name of God,
and abhor every thing of religious
character. In short, it is libel upon
the name of religion, and sin against
God. Imagine tender mother amid the
redeemed in heaven, singing praises to
that God who has consigned her chill
dren to the torments of an endless hell!
We remember a certain well-known
revivalist, who, while preaching upon
the love of God, told about Peter the
Great, who, on certain occasion met
Russian peasant; unaccustomed to
to come in contact with "The Czar of
all the Russias," this man crouched and
trembled before the blue blood.
The Gear becams indignant and struck
the trembling man a blow upon the
face, saying: "Why, sir, do you tremblep
I will rule the Russians by love. 1 do
not allow fear among my subjects. I
command them all to love mel"
The preacher who related this story |
told his hearers that Christ, unlike the |
Gar, does not strike the trembling sim
ner, but stands with open arms to re-
ceive him however, before he con-
cluded his discourse, he informed us
that there is
"Dreadful hell and everlasting pains,
Where sinners must forever dwell
In darkness, fire, chains" etc.
Now, the orthodox doctrine of hell |
Christ as doing just what
the Czar winning love by blows.
The orthodox doctrine says to the sim
ner: Love the Lord, for he is good
he is just; he is lovable; he is kind and |
he is gentle. But if you will not love
him, because of his own righteousness,
he will consign you to endless damna-
tion-all for his name and glory's sake
He who does right for the sake OF |
reward is selfish barbarian. He who
does right, because he fears to do 9TH
erwise, is cringing coward. He who
does right, because it is right to do
right, is a Christian-an honor to his
religion. Very respectfully yours,
I. B. FERGUSON.
Leeds, Cha,aauqua Co., Kan.